Make it real for me
by static-as-you-walk-away
Summary: Uther forces Arthur to sack Merlin- Only then does he realise how much Merlin means to him, however, will the discovery of Merlins magic alter his decision? A/M SLASH
1. prologue

**My second merlin fic, please review. x**

**You make it real**

"That is_ it_!"

Arthur furiously yelled, eyeing the several smashed vases that littered his chamber floor. Red-faced, he rounded on Merlin, his deadly glare making his manservant shift uncomfortably and gaze at his feet.

"How much longer do you expect me to put up with such incompetence? You do realize that when you look bad, _I _ look bad! Already, my own citizens are talking! I'm S-"

Arthur hesitated.

"I'm sorry... I've been thinking about it for a while now and... I'm going to have to let you go."

He finished sadly, but with a certain determined edge to his husky voice. Merlin had taken his lecture with his usual patience, staring at his boots, but at Arthur's last sentence his hears jerked up in surprise ; his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Y-you're _sacking _me?"

"Im sorry"

was his blank reply, his masters face indecipherable. Merlin gaped at him .Was he serious?.

"But-"

he began, but Arthur cut him off.

" I said I was sorry, now leave!"

His tone was harsh, stiff. Merlin nodded, hesitating only a minute before leaving. The dark oak doors thudded shut behind him, muffling his retreating footsteps. Arthur counted to ten then stuck his head out of the door, peering at Merlin's retreating back then set off in the opposite direction at a furious pace.

He didn't slow down until he reached a large, metal-studded door. Not bothering to knock he stormed through and entered a large, dimly lit stone chamber. Uther sat a large mahogany desk in the corner, writing on a piece of crisp, yellow parchment. He looked up only briefly at his sons arrival, quickly returning to his work.

" I did it"

Arthur said through gritted teeth. Uther's attention remained with his parchment.

"Did what?"

He said absently, crossing out an error with his black feathered quill. Arthur's suppressed glare quickly became stronger, angrier.

" sacked Merlin, like you told me too!"

Uther still didn't look up but his answer was smug, triumphant, simple.

"good."

The prince stood in shocked silence then, his voice quickly returning to him, proceeded to shout at his father.

"Is that it! No explanation?!"

Uther threw his quill down in frustration, matching his sons furious glare. Arthur stood his ground.

"An explanation? Surely its obvious!"

He said in distaste, staring expectantly at Arthur. He made no sign that he understood.

"You and that _boy_ have been getting far too attached. Do you think its healthy for a prince to have such a strong attachment to his servant? You'll be King sooner or later- you better start acting like one."

The two glared at each other, their rage constantly trying to overcome the others. eventually, Arthur lowered his eyes. while his eyes remained hard, he respectfully gave the King a curt nod, then returned to his chambers, mulling over all that had occurred, convincing himself that his bond with Merlin had been strictly professional- a common courtesy given to all servants by their masters.

**That's the 1st chapter. I know it says in the summary that its a songfic, it is lol, but the song part doesn't start till next chapter. Please review xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**lol, well I sat down to write an English essay about tesco's apparent domination of the world (?!) and somehow, "accidentally" ended up writing this chapter instead. Who ever said I was easily distracted?**

**This is where the songy bit of the song- fic starts guys! You make it real by James Morrison.**

**Chapter 2**

_There's so much craziness, surrounding me,_

_there's so much going on, it gets hard to breath,_

In the training fields below, row upon row of armour clad knights played out methodical routines, their steel swords flashing in the frosty air. They made an extra effort today, often glancing at the high stone tower behind them and at the person who stood there. Above, flocks of geese added there uncouth song to the din of clashing metal below, noisily making their way south for the harsh winter ahead.

Atop the tower, Arthur sighed in dismay, his venture to find a space to think in peace and silence an obvious failure. One month. It had been one month since he fired Merlin, a whole month having nothing to do with the young man except the occasional glance of his pale face from across the training field, or hurrying out the door to Gaius' chamber.

It had taken only a week for Arthur's visible signs of loss to show, Deliberately disobeying his father whenever he saw fit, thunderous tantrums that left even his toughest knights scurrying for cover, long amounts of time spent pensive in his chambers – or today, peeking out the large window at the top of a storage tower, used to keep small glass vials, mainly for Gaius' benefit.

The prince ran his fingers through his golden hair, remembering the last argument he had with his father – about an hour ago. This time the topic had been trivial, but it stung as much as the rest. Arthur was beginning to realise he had almost lost his loyalty to his father, The King. Almost, but not quite. Just because he was angry with Uther at the moment, he clung to the hope he was still as loyal as ever. Even as he thought it, a flicker of doubt alighted in his heart.

_When all my faith is gone, you bring it back to me,_

_you make it real for me._

His temper flaring up, Arthur kicked the solid wall beneath the window- immediately regretting it. Jumping about on one foot, he rubbed his toe, grimacing at the pain.

"Now Arthur, I really don't think thatis going to help"

Arthur spun round to see Morganna, already walking across the room towards him. He hadn't even heard her enter. She stopped an arms-length in front of him, examining his face expectantly.

"What do _you _want?"

he snapped viscously, his voice sounding hoarse. Morganna's mouth twisted in anger but she controlled it well.

"I wanted to talk to you. About merlin?"

She said, keeping her tone sympathetic. Arthur's eyes narrowed and he turned away from her, his back to the door.

"I don't want to talk about merlin"

he replied, his tone level. Morganna snorted, not realising her mistake until it was too late.

"get out, leave me alone."

he said, barely audible. Morganna's eyes widened in exasperation, her controlled anger no longer tame.

"Arthur! Even YOU cant deny you've been miserable since you made him redundant, if you wo-"

The prince cut her off, yelling furiously, spit flying from his mouth.

" I SAID GET OUT"

His angry voice rebounding of the walls. He heard retreating footsteps, and the door slam shut. When he looked round, she was gone. He walked back over to the window, leaning his hands on the gritty stone window ledge, his head bowed. He blinked back tears.

_Well I'm not sure of my priorities_

_and ive lost sight of where im meant to be_

_like holy water, washing over me_

_you make it real for me._

From the stairwell behind the door he heard footsteps, then the sound of the door opening. He turned round, thinking it was Morganna returning, but he stopped himself from shouting as his face burned bright red- matching that of his ex-servant's who stood frozen in the doorway. Merlin's mouth opened and closed like a fish, struggling to speak.

"yes?"

Arthur said, his voice cracking. He hoped Merlin hadn't noticed. Merlin simply inclined his head to the prince, muttering sir under his breath before crossing to a corner in the room, collecting several glass vials. His head still bowed and his cheeks still red, Merlin didn't look up, but he spoke hurriedly, as though wanting nothing more than to escape this nightmarish situation.

"Sorry for disturbing you sire, its usually empty up here, Gaius sent me to get some medicine thingy-ma-jiggies, I wont be long."

he rambled, avoiding Arthur's eye at all costs. With everything he needed piled dangerously in his arms Merlin quickly left, leaving the door open behind him, and Arthur contemplating whether or not to follow. The sound of several glass vials smashing loudly at the bottom of the stairs made his mind up for him and he quickly hurried down them.

_And im running to you baby_

_cos' you were the only one who saved me_

_that's why ive been missing you lately_

_you make it real for me._

**Chapter 2 over and done with, please review xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Arthur stood, mouth agape, at the bottom of the stairs, shock rooting him to the spot. Gasping, Merlin's amber eyes faded back to blue; his raised arm falling to his side.

The glass vials on the floor continued piecing themselves together.

"Arthur?"

merlin tentatively asked, his voice tinged with panic. The prince swayed on his feet and grasped the cold, stone wall beside him, balancing himself.

" Arthur speak!, i--"

He stopped abruptly as Arthur's bemused expression changed to one of fury and- something that looked like betrayal. Eyes twinging, Merlin braced himself for the sting ; the gold coin rendering before the blow. It came.

"sorcereryourasorcererarrestfathertoyoutake!"

The princes cracked voice pulsated through the stairwell in a stream of anguish- though the speech was undecipherable, the message was clear. Merlin asked anyway.

"what?!"

Merlin knew he should probably take advantage of Arthur's momentary confusion but he couldn't bring himself to betray his master, his friend, his l- no! His friend . He knew it would not matter to Arthur but it did to him. He would stay with Arthur until he died, however soon that may be. Two sides of the same coin- till death do them part merlin thought dryly. If only both sides felt the same... not unrequited.

"Magic!" Arthur gasped " you just used magic!!"

"im sorry. I- I wanted to tell you truly, but-" Merlin instinctively lifted his hand to Arthur's shoulder, softly gripping the delicate surface of his tunic, breathing in his metallic yet comforting scent. Eyes clouded over, Arthur stared at his former servants soft features, stunned by the physical contact that sent shivers down his spine. For a moment, he thought he would just forget about the whole incident there and then- for a moment. The fury, the pain and the mental conviction of the evils of sorcery sharply kicked him back to his senses and he violently shrugged Merlin's hand away, avoiding the pained look in the other man's eyes.

"I... I... " He seemed to be scanning his brain for what to do. His head shot up, his eyes filled with a new-found purpose, Then said the one word Merlin dreaded hearing most- the condemning word that proved Merlin's unrequited bond theory.

"Father."

Arthur spoke, whilst pushing past Merlin and heading down the corridor, ignoring Merlin's desperate shouts behind him he remembered where he would find the king- in his study writing peace negotiations with a neighbouring kingdom

. He cursed his own stupidity, he should have noticed what Merlin really was! The embarrassment of admitting that to the king succumbed only to the growing sense of hopelessness he felt. He struggled to think of a single bad event that could be traced down to merlin- nothing could be found... In fact, closer examination of Camelot's recent troubles suggested Merlin's was involved ( if not responsible ) for the solution to the problem, not the cause. How many times _had_ his idiot manservant saved the day?

And why was he desperately trying to find evil in him? Was it that he _wanted _Merlin to die? **NO. **He dismissed this thought immediately- it was the opposite from what he wanted. Over his past month of brooding he had had plenty of time to think. To think over the changed in himself that even he could not deny, the new emotions that his manservant had provoked in him.

Jealousy. At first just with Gwen; When he had seen the flower she had given Merlin it was all he could do to refrain himself from ripping it from his red scarf and posting it back to her in little bits. Sadistic, yes, but he had thought about it. He had thought it had just been over protectiveness of his friend- Gratitude for when he had saved his life. But then Lancelot came. He had tried being hostile- that hadn't worked, so he moved on to friendship; Get involved and steer him away from the prize: Merlin. That didn't seem to work either- He still felt his blood pulse through his veins with rapid speed, the crimson liquid tainted with evils green whenever he saw the two together, even though he new it was just friendly banter. He then had blamed it on Friendship alone. His status of Prince had given him no true friends, except Merlin. He had though he knew what it meant to be friends, to have friends and to trust them. He smirked at his own naivety. Before Merlin he had had many 'friends', after, just one.

But he understood now. Understood the emotions, the pain, the loss the past month had brang him and the betrayal And he understood how problematic this realization was. Even if he had not been royalty, the mere supposition of what he felt would be enough to have him exiled. It wasn't supposed to happen, men and men just didn't - He stopped abruptly. He had reached the door to his fathers study. Taking a deep breath, He knocked heavily on the wood, then pushed down the handle when he heard the deep, familiar and forboding voice ; "Enter."

**Cliff-hanger !Bah! What an awful chapter! Oh well, I felt the need to update and so I did :D Hopefully the next chapter will be sooner. Anyway's please review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hmmm... another essay due in yet once more I find myself here.. its a mystery alright! **

The study was cold and dark, the only light emitting from a candle on his fathers desk. He could see his father bent over his desk and slowly took the few short steps that separated himself from the king. Too short ; he needed time to think. Coughing loudly, he came to a stop and waited for the king to finish what he was writing.

" Yes?"

Uther asked, shifting the pile of parchment he had been working on over to the other side of the desk. He gulped, not quite sure why is throat was suddenly so dry. He smirked to himself s he remembered the time when Merlin had had a sore throat and Arthur had ordered him to sing for a solid half hour. The next day he had lost his voice completely and Arthur had been shocked to find that he missed his sarcastic remarks.... He suddenly became aware that his father was still waiting for an answer and straightened up.

"I've came to talk to you about Merlin"

he said carefully. Uther looked up, cold eyes meeting Arthur's warm ones in a penetrating gaze; it was like he was blaming him. Of course not, Arthur chided himself, besides... your doing the right thing, handing Merlin over. Despite himself, he lowered his gaze to the new pile of paperwork on the solid oak table. The title – written in bold, cursive handwriting – jumped out at him almost immediately; **EXCECUTION NOTICES****. **

Reality crashed down upon him, consequences flashing before his eyes. He chocked, forgetting how to breathe. What was he thinking?! Merlin = sorcery, sorcery = Uther, Uther = **death!** Oh god! He gripped the edge of the table, swaying on his feet. The room began to spin on its axis, blurry stone walls flying past him, seeking escape from the sinful confession he had almost made. He was Vaguely aware of his father shouting his name but he couldn't see him, red smoke clouding up his vision. Dimly, the sound of metal on stone floor could be heard as guards were summoned but none of this mattered to him; he had but one thought in his mind. He barely managed to mutter the words "not Merlin" before he toppled forward, sending his fathers damning paperwork flying as he fell into restless unconsciousness.

**Very short chapter I know, but thought that it would be an OK cliffhanger.... no? Oh well, just me then ;p please review x**


	5. Authors note

_**Authors note**_

_I'm not sure what I have planned for the next chapter, I have too many (rather rubbish) thoughts in my head about what I want to happen. However, I would like to hear what you guys think._

_Should I;_

_Have Merlin be there when Arthur wakes or should Arthur seek Merlin out?_

_Should their meeting be angsty or fluffy?_

_Maybe even post-pone their meeting and add more drama?_

_If you have any idea's about where you want this story to go then say, or even if you think I ought to give it up completely lol xx NEXT UPDATE: Tuesday. _


End file.
